“Shanked ’er in the forest,” he said. “I turned around to apologize to my partner. Like, sorry Pat, sorry, so sorry. And he’s like: ‘WTF!’

“It hit a couple of trees, probably a rock then bounced out to within six inches (of the cup).”

Four and a half, to be precise.

Instead of reaching into his pocket to buy beers, Bogues was stuffing $260 into his wallet as the winner of a contest that also gave $265 to charity.

Henry and Bogues went on to fire a 6-under 65 to earn a four-way share of the lead after Round 1. Also tied at the top are the teams of Jeff Towner-Paul Lahey, Bruce Reid-Peter Drevniok and Matt Cheslock-Chris Mayer. Two others (Brenden McGuire-Trevor Allard, Martin Herde-Geoffrey Frigon) are one back at minus-5.

“My partner set me up and I knocked them in,” said Bogues, a plumber by trade, in explaining the team’s success. “I can put it right in the pipe.”

Usually the main contribution of Bogues, who battles to break 100 when playing his own game, is his solid putting. And he was on fire with the flat stick on this day, that started under threatening skies.

“We got lucky today,” said Bogues.

“He meant the weather,” said Henry. “Except for his out-of-the-woods bounce, that was the only time we got lucky on the course.”

That they get to play the championship round Saturday on a familiar track should have Vegas oddsmakers favouring Henry and Bogues.

“I think it gives us a good chance,” said Henry, who wouldn’t be specific about the number of rounds they’ve had at The Marshes this season. “A few.”

The ace they witnessed was the second of Cordeau’s career. The other one was recorded about five years ago at Pinegrove, No. 2, on the south shore of Montreal in St-Jean, where he also holds a membership.

“This was way better, because my first one was a fluke,” said the portfolio manager at TD Wealth and father of four. “It was a draw that bounced back right. It was a good bounce. This one was right at it.

“I was 138 yards, into the wind, a bit downhill, so I hit an 8-iron cut … I’m like, I think it’s in and Kyle says I think it’s in too. So I start running. He’s like, ‘don’t run, you’ll break your ankle.’ So I got in to the cart.”

Upon arriving at the green, they’re best hopes were confirmed. The ‘1’ propelled the pair to the minus-3 finish that put them in a playoff between 11 teams for seven spots, with all sorts on the line including the right to play in the championship round.

“We had just made a bogey on 10 and we were quiet, both pissed off,” said Cordeau.

“That put us at plus-1, and then we birdied 11, but at that point we’re kind of like, okay, but who cares. Then I made that (ace), and we were like ‘minus 2, we have a shot.’

Keffer, who became a dad for the third time three weeks ago, said he and his partner were dragging around the course like “Eeyore” until No. 12 and the ace.

“It was hard to get him to stop jumping up and down after that,” said Keffer, an ex-military veteran who is now a project manager at Global Affairs. “His heart was racing. We had to calm him down before he could get back into the game.

“But it was definitely his hole-in-one that got us back in the game.

“At that point, we figured we’re out. Once he got the hole-in-one, there was a glimmer of hope. That’s when we got aggressive and started charging towards it.”

The day had a happy ending for Keffer and Cordeau.

On the second playoff hole, a par-3, Cordeau hit a similar shot as his ace earlier in the day. Only this time, the ball spun back, leaving him with a seven-foot putt.

Confidently, he drained the putt to reserve a shot at the title for him and Keffer. What felt better, the ace or the putt in the playoffs?

“The putt,” said Cordeau. “The (ace) was for me, but the putt was for him.”

A PUTT OF ATONEMENT FOR PELLERIN

GATINEAU — Craig Pellerin felt he had to repay his partner Wednesday evening.

As the sun set on a playoff that started with 11 teams for seven spots and dwindled to three for one, Pellerin put his shot from the 164-yard elevated tee to within nine feet of the cup on the third hole. He then proceeded to drain the putt, securing the last reservation into Saturday’s championship round for himself and Claudio Finocchio.

“After a whole day of horrible play by myself and Claudio carrying me, I had to make this one happen,” said Pellerin. “So getting on the green I had to make that putt. I told him on the way day here, I owe you big time. This putt is going in.”

Also making it through to the weekend, via the playoff, were Rob Kennedy-Paul Behncke, Francis Hawoo-John Phillips, Kyle Keffer-Phil Cordeau, Tyler Bogues-David Legris, Travis Lyndon-Chris Gardner and Tyler Akeson-Jay Higgins.

“If we just keeping making pars we’re getting in,” Higgins said before the playoff, who then proceeded to drop a 35-foot putt for a birdie.

Along with earning a spot in Round 2, playoff winners also gained a ClubEG membership (worth $369) and automatic entry into next year’s tournament.

“We came on Monday and did some practice rounds, and we hit (this green) perfectly,” said Finocchio. “(Today) we couldn’t hit the freakin’ green, so luckily we got to hit it again.”

— How’s this for solid golf? Among the top 10 groups, only a total of six bogeys were posted.

— Sun Scramble action continues Thursday when the GolfWorks A Division plays Round 1 at eQuinelle, which is also hosting the Ladies Open as well as the Maxfli Ladies B, Top Flite Ladies C and the Ladies D divisions

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